Mass layoffs in October 2012

November 27, 2012

On a seasonally adjusted basis, employers took 1,360 mass layoff actions involving 131,173 workers in October, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month. The number of mass layoff events increased by 44 from September, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 8,711.

One-fourth (344) of the mass layoffs in October occurred in the manufacturing sector, which resulted in 42,946 initial claims for unemployment insurance (seasonally adjusted).

Over the year, the number of average weekly mass layoff events for October increased by 11 to 286, and associated average weekly initial claims increased by 3,228 to 27,457. Eleven of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest increase occurring in manufacturing.

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. To learn more, see "Mass Layoffs — October 2012" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-12-2292. Each mass layoff event involves at least 50 persons from a single employer.